Seven Days at the Poor Knights Marine Reserve.
Common Kelp (Ecklonia radiata) is illuminated by early morning light in Blue Maomao Arch at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Friday 23 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Some of the highlights from my first annual Seven-Day trip to the Poor Knights Islands with Quentin Bennett, Andrew Green, Franz Smith and Mary Carney with Ocean Blue Adventures on board their tender Mazurka with Kevin Delonge and Kent Ericksen.
Quentin and various dive companions have been doing this trip every year around the same week in April since the late sixties.
I felt very privileged to be asked along and it was fascinating listening to story’s of trips past and how things have changed and in some cases stayed the same at the Knights.
Certainly the week was one of my best dive experiences, peaking when a pod of False-killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) approached as I ended a dive in Crater Bay. Having come up from a 120 minute dive at dusk on the East Side of the Island with no more power left in my strobes I was forced to really test the 5D Mark 2 in low light with exposures around 60th second at f2.8 at 1000iso the results are amazing… A few years ago, I would never expected that we could get this quality from digital in saying that a few years ago, shooting film you could not change film underwater, I would have been stuck with a low iso film and would not have got the shots at all.
Unfortunately I am being a tease because I can’t show you the pictures until they are published… keep your eyes out and just a friendly reminder to buy the current New Zealand Geographic in fact get a subscription we are very lucky to have a magazine of this calibre in New Zealand.
Over the seven days squeezed in 21 Dives with a total of 26 hours in the water…
Diving Tender Mazurka outside Mine Shaft Cave at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Sunday 18 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
New Zealand Diving Pioneer and Underwater Photographer Quentin Bennett with Eastern Arch on Aorangaia Island in the background at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Friday 23 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
Diver Kent Ericksen inside Long Cave or better known as Matt's Crack at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Sunday 18 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
Diver Kent Ericksen inside Long Cave or better known as Matt's Crack at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand.Monday 19 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Diver Mary Carney on the surface before a dive at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Friday 23 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Diver Mary Carney is silhouetted near the surface before a dive at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Friday 23 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Diver Franz Smith at Dusk at the Southern end of Tawhiti Rahi Island at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Sunday 18 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
Salp sp. silhouetted at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Wednesday 21 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010 Dive Number: 247
One very cool thing I photographed was sun being refracted through Salps not unusal I know, but the Refracted Prisms were lighting up Snapper…. Rainbow Snapper.
Light refracted through salps give a rainbow effect on Snapper (Pagrus auratus) at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Wednesday 21 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
The channel between Aorangi Island and Tawhiti Rahi Island as dusk falls at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Sunday 18 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
Grey Moray Eel (Gymnothorax nublis) at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Thursday 22 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Nudibranch, Janolus mokohinau Order: Nudibranchia Suborder: Arminina Site: Rikoriko Cave, Poor Knights Marine Reserve, New Zealand. Saturday 17 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Nudibranch, Janolus ignis Order: Nudibranchia Suborder: Arminina Site: Rikoriko Cave, Poor Knights Marine Reserve, New Zealand. Saturday 17 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Nudibranch, Cratena lineata Order: Nudibranchia Suborder: Aeolidina Family: Glaucidae Location :The Canyon, Poor Knights Marine Reserve, New Zealand. Saturday 17 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Karuhiruh or the Pied shag (Phalacrocorax varius) at the Poor Knights Marine Reserve, New Zealand. Saturday 17 April 2010 Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010
Middle Arch at dusk at the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve New Zealand. Photograph Richard Robinson © 2010.
